Bilbao is a wonderful place (August 2005)

 I wonder whether it's fate that i stopped here first because at the moment i could quite happily stay. And bear in mind it has hardly stopped rain since i landed, i haven't been able to take many photographs because it is so grey and cloudy and my holiday wear is boots, rainproof and hat... And i never know whether i am misunderstanding someone is Basque or Spanish. So i must really like it. A lot.

What do i like about it? Well it just seems normal. Brighton, where i have been living the last 20 years, is a very nice place but it isn't normal. It is a hectic little liberal bubble in the midst of a large conservative county. Nothing wrong with that, a lot right with it, but in recent years i get the feeling that Brighton has become very false. Everyone is trying to be something or somebody else. And never quite pulling it off. Now as my journey progresses this view will change but at the moment it's how i feel.

As i have only been here a few days i am bound to notice the superficial first. And one of the most obvious things is the fantastic MTS (Mass Transit System) they have here. It seems to have been primarily funded through the EU and money well spent. Wherever you go you have a choice of the metro (aka the tube or underground) or trams or buses. All are clean. All are big. All are connected to the other. If you live in a town or city where connected transport is a given you might not understand how novel this is, but to most people from the UK it is still something of a dream. As a tourist you can get a travel card and yesterday i had an initial problem using it. I indicated my complete confusion to the woman behind the assistance booth, she made a couple of phone calls, sorted the problem then came out of her booth and made sure the ticket worked. Blimey.

Bilbao is also a city of culture. Now that is a no brainer if you know about the Guggenheim museum but there is more to Bilbao than that. This town has been here a long time and it shows, not just in the buildings of the old quarter but in the feel of the place. Bilbao is normal because it is a city first and a tourist attraction second.

And of course it is the heart of Basque country (Euskal Herria). A land which has its own borders which cross across France and Spain.